THE MOMENTOUS EVENTS that occurred in Russia in the spring and summer of 1762 have long stirred the imaginations of historians and numismatists. Out of the troubles arose one of Russia’s greatest rulers: Catherine II, the Great. Her husband, Peter III, had inherited the throne on Dec. 25, 1761, upon the death of his aunt, the Empress Elizabeth.
The future Peter III was born at Kiel (Germany) on Feb. 10, 1728, the son of Anna Petrovna (daughter of Peter the Great) and her husband, Karl Friedrich, duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was originally christened Karl Friedrich Ulrich but changed to a Russian name when he was invited to Russia in late 1741. The young Peter was also heir to the throne of Sweden but chose to hitch his star to the Russian Empire. In November 1742 he formally became a member of the Russian Orthodox Church.
His great aunt, Elizabeth, had seized the throne in November 1741 and was concerned about her successor. In early 1742 she officially named Peter the heir-apparent and in 1744 arranged a German bride, Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, for him. Sophia took the Russian name of Ekaterina (Catherine) and was later to seize the throne herself, becoming known to history as Catherine the Great.
Peter was physically unattractive as a youth and a bout with smallpox left him disfigured. For this reason, he began to prefer people,
